DeSilva Lawsuit It's all fun and games until the lawyers get involved.

I was a bit surprised Saturday to be visited by a process server regarding our coverage of Tony DeSilva. At first, there was a bit of concern, so I started digging. 

First, lets share the lawsuit.

Date Filed 8/27/2026 4:14 PM

Superior Court - Bristol

Docket Number 2673CV00521

#3

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

BRISTOL, SS

BRISTOL SUPERIOR COURT

CIVIL ACTION NO. 2673CV00521

ANTHONY DESILVA,

Plaintiff,

v.

STEPHEN HEISLER and MIKE MANKOWSKI,

Defendants.

BRISTOL SUPERIOR COURT FILED

AUG 27 2026

JENNIFER A. SULLIVAN, ESQ CLERK/MAGISTRATE

COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND

INTRODUCTION

This is a case of a team of cyberbullies who has escalated their harassment into a defamation case, in which Defendants Stephen Heisler and Mike Mankowski together made related outrageous and false claims against Plaintiff Anthony DeSilva that has caused serious damage to his reputation and business.

Specifically, Defendant Stephen Heisler authored multiple online articles between 2020 and 2024 asserting that Plaintiff is a "deviant sexual predator," a "criminal sexual deviant," a "self-professed child molester," and "junior hockey's roach," and claiming that Plaintiff was arrested and charged with numerous offenses and jailed. And Defendant Mike Mankowski joined the defamatory chorus in 2025, republishing these allegations with his own comments that "that piece of s*hit is a pedophile." These are factually false and injurious. Plaintiff has never been convicted of any sex crimes. Yet despite Mr. DeSilva's best efforts to get the defamation to stop, the chorus continues. Now Mr. DeSilva has no choice but to defend his reputation in court.

PARTIES

The Plaintiff, Anthony DeSilva ("Mr. DeSilva") is in an individual residing in Acushnet, Plymouth County, MA.

The Defendant, Stephen Heisler, is an individual residing in Orlando, Florida.

The Defendant Mike Mankowski is an individual residing in Grand Island, NY.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

The Court has jurisdiction over Defendant and the claims set forth herein pursuant to Mass. G.L. c. 231A § 1, et. seq. and Mass. G.L. c. 212 § 3.

Bristol County is the proper venue as Mr. DeSilva resides in the county, and it is the place where the conduct was intended to cause Mr. DeSilva harm.

FACTS

Mr. DeSilva is a hockey coach for USA Hockey, a youth league. Through the league, Mr. DeSilva coaches talented young players in Massachusetts. Until the defamation campaign began, his business earned $20,000 to $25,000 per year. Since the defamation campaign, his business has crashed to $3,000. Mr. DeSilva has been a hockey coach for more than 20 years, and never had a complaint from parents or players.

Then in 2020, Mr. Heisler published a series of articles in Junior Hockey News that purported that Mr. DeSilva was a "deviant sexual predator of the absolute worst variety."

In a later article, he wrote that "it is my opinion that Anthony DeSilva is a criminal sexual deviant that shows zero remorse for his past and has returned to the game in any way possible, regardless of who he has hurt along the way."

In fact, Mr. DeSilva has never been convicted of sexual deviancy and Mr. Heisler's statement is objectively false.

Yet despite Mr. DeSilva's repeated attempts to stop Mr. Heisler from publishing these outrageous accusations, the cyberbullying continued.

On July 22, 2022, Mr. Heisler published an article in The Vault that stated that "Anthony "Tony" De Silva is the cockroach of the sport of hockey. He's a sexual predator that has absolutely no business involved in the sport of hockey".

Again on July 29, 2022, Mr. Heisler published an article calling Mr. DeSilva a "self-professed child molester."

The harassment then escalated to an implied death threat on Facebook. In the Facebook post, which has since been removed, Mr. Heisler stated, "Clearly DeSilva has enablers within our group. Refrain from any threats of suggestions of violence. I'm working on an all expenses paid tuna fishing trip for DeSilva out of Boston. A group of hockey dads have agreed to have Tony join them. Maybe 'Rich DiCaprio' can show them the deepest spots." This was followed by a response a few posts later from Rich DiCaprio "Oh I know some really deep spots. I also have a lot of cynder [sic] blocks that I don't know what"

On May 11, 2022, Mr. DeSilva reported the threat to the Acushnet Police Department. The police took his complaint under advisement and recorded the Facebook text.

After Mr. DeSilva began operating the hockey site, Recruiters Showcase, Mr. Heisler published an article again calling Mr. DeSilva "junior hockey's roach" and questioning why he was involved in hockey activities.

On March 26, 2024, Mr. Heisler wrote another article repeating his false allegations and republishing his past articles on Mr. DeSilva.

On June 3, 2025, Defendant Mike Mankowski published a post on Facebook referring to DeSilva that stated "that piece of s*hit is a pedophile...As someone who was a client...I want to make people aware of who he really is...his real name is Anthony DeSilva. He has been arrested multiple times for underaged sex crimes....If approached by him, RUN"

In fact, Mr. DeSilva has never been convicted of any sex crime.

As a direct result of Mr. Heisler's harassment, the Recruiters Showcase has been banned from hockey arenas, including the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Conn.

All of Heisler's and Mankowski's statements are factually false, outrageous and intended to harm Mr. DeSilva's business and reputation. Contrary to the Defendants' statements, DeSilva has never been convicted of any sex crimes and has had his business destroyed as a result of these statements.

The statements have cost Mr. DeSilva his business and his career as a coach. Because of the defamation, he has lost jobs, such as the loss of his valued position as a gym manager, lost clients in his personal training business, and has lost the opportunity to obtain employment. All told, the defamation has cost Mr. DeSilva more than $300,000since their campaign began.

Because the Defendants have competing businesses themselves, the Defendants used their defamation against Mr. DeSilva to gain clients for themselves.

COUNT I

DeSILVA V. HEISLER

DEFAMATION

Mr. DeSilva repeats and realleges each of the foregoing paragraphs as if explicitly stated herein.

As described herein and as in fact occurred, Mr. Heisler published a series of false statement of fact about Mr. DeSilva which is capable of damaging his reputation in the community.

The false statements charged Mr. DeSilva with conduct which would tend to injure his in his trade, business or profession and were intended to do so.

As a result, Mr. Heisler has defamed Mr. DeSilva and is liable to him for damages.

COUNT II

DeSILVA V. HEISLER

TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH CONTRACT

Mr. DeSilva repeats and realleges each of the foregoing paragraphs as if explicitly stated herein.

As described herein and as in fact occurred, Mr. Heisler published a series of false statement of fact about Mr. DeSilva which is capable of damaging his reputation in the community.

The false statements charged Mr. DeSilva with conduct which would tend to injure his in his trade, business or profession and were intended to do so.

As a result, Mr. Heisler has defamed Mr. DeSilva and is liable to him for damages.

COUNT III

MANKOWSKI

DEFAMATION

Mr. DeSilva repeats and realleges each of the foregoing paragraphs as if explicitly stated herein.

As described herein and as in fact occurred, Mr. Mankowski published false statement of facts about Mr. DeSilva which are outrageous and capable of damaging his reputation in the community.

The false statements charged Mr. DeSilva with conduct which would tend to injure his in his trade, business or profession and were intended to do so.

As a result, Mr. Mankowski has defamed Mr. DeSilva and is liable to him for damages.

COUNT IV

DeSILVA V. HEISLER, MANKOWSKI

INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Mr. DeSilva repeats and realleges each of the foregoing paragraphs as if explicitly stated herein.

The defamatory articles published by Mr. Heisler and Mr. Mankowski about Mr. DeSilva constitute defamation per se.

It is imperative that all of the defamatory posts and articles, which have caused substantial harm to Mr. DeSilva, be deleted and that the Defendants be enjoined from publishing them again. They are not protected speech and such an injunction will cause no harm to the Defendants.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Mr. DeSilva prays that the Court enter the following relief:

Judgment in his favor in the full amount of his damages, plus statutory interest and costs.

Injunctive relief as requested herein.

Such other relief as this court deems just and proper.

JURY DEMAND

MR. DeSILVA DEMANDS A TRIAL BY JURY ON ALL COUNTS SO TRIABLE

Respectfully Submitted,

ANTHONY DeSILVA

By his attorneys,

/s/ Timothy Cornell

Timothy Cornell, BBO #564250

Cornell Dolan, P.C.

Ten Post Office Square, Suite 800 South

Boston, MA 02109

617-850-9036

Personal Jurisdiction: Massachusetts courts require out-of-state defendants to have "purposefully availed" themselves of the state. Simply drafting and publishing articles on JuniorHockey.io from Florida is frequently insufficient to establish minimum contacts unless the content explicitly targeted Massachusetts commerce.

Statute of Limitations: Massachusetts enforces a strict three-year statute of limitations for defamation. The complaint cites publications from 2020 and July 2022, which are completely time-barred. Only the March 26, 2024, publication falls within the legally actionable window.

Truth as an Absolute Defense: Defamation requires the statements to be demonstrably false. DeSilva’s documented 2012 arrest in Polk County, Florida, for internet sex incidents involving a minor, combined with his permanent ineligibility status with USA Hockey and SafeSport, provides factual grounding for my reporting.

Anti-SLAPP Protections: Massachusetts has a strong Anti-SLAPP statute (G.L. c. 231, § 59H) designed to rapidly dismiss frivolous lawsuits meant to intimidate individuals speaking on matters of public concern, such as youth sports safety. A successful Anti-SLAPP motion freezes discovery and forces the plaintiff to pay your legal fees.

Attorney Misrepresentation: The summons lists Timothy Cornell with BBO #564250. Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers records indicate #564250 actually belongs to Patrick J. Dolan, while Timothy Cornell’s BBO number is #654412. Combined with a disconnected phone number and a virtual address, this represents a severe procedural defect that counsel should highlight to the court.

Material Falsehoods: Paragraph 18 claims DeSilva has never been convicted of any sex crime, yet public criminal records and SafeSport's disciplinary database directly contradict the material facts of his background.

Let's be clear here, I am completely aware of that DeSilva, who was charged in 2012 with numerous offenses, including use of a computer to seduce a child, but pleaded no contest to a single count of unlawful computer usage. That fact does not take away his confession to Polk County Sherriff's Department investigators. As always, I'll leave the link to Sherriff Grady Judd's thoughts on DeSilva.